SWTOR: The Best Companions for Every Class (2024)

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BioWare made their formula for RPG companions with Baldur’s Gate in 1998. In the games the Canada-based developers have made since, this formula hasn’t changed much. RPGs by BioWare tend to feature a wide cast of companion characters who follow alongside the player on their journey. These followers typically have unique backstories, inputs on the main story, personal quests, and relationships with other companions in the party.

While Baldur’s Gate set this standard, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic solidified it. As both a game developed by BioWare and a follow up to the KoTOR series, it makes sense that Star Wars: The Old Republic continues this tradition. Each character class received a troupe of five unique companions. In this guide, we’ll show you which of these followers is best for each class.

Note: we’ll only be going over base game companions received through class stories in this guide (sorry HK-51).

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Best SWTOR Companions for Each Class

Without further ado, let’s get into our best companions in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Best Jedi Knight Companions

Kira Carsen and Lord Scourge

Kira Carsen is the Jedi Knight’s padawan, and as such is a natural choice for their best companion. She offers some useful input on the story, although this is not what makes her the best. Instead, Padawan Carsen stands out as a superbly written character with an intriguing arc and a uniquely close relationship with the player. Because she is the Knight’s apprentice, you have the opportunity to teach Kira what her place is in the galaxy. As a result of players’ ability to choose their alignment and dialogue options, Kira’s lessons can change drastically. Light side Jedi Knights will be guiding her to adopt a path of righteousness in line with the Jedi Code. Meanwhile, dark side Knights may lead her down a different road, corrupting Kira to follow a code less befitting of the order she supposedly serves.

Lord Scourge has a lot of connections to the galaxy at large. Scourge is an important figure in SWTOR, his backstory tying in directly with the tie-in novel Revan and having a bearing on the game’s second expansion. Additionally, his joining of the Jedi Knight’s party has direct consequences for the Sith Warrior’s quest line. Furthermore, as a former Dark Lord of the Sith, Scourge provides unique insight into how the Empire’s most terrifying members view the world. Fighting a Sith and having them tell you their motivations is one thing, but it’s something else to actually get to know and even befriend a Sith Lord.

Best Sith Warrior Companions

Jaesa Willsam and Vette

Jaesa Willsaam, similarly to Kira Carsen, is the Sith Warrior’s apprentice. She enters the story as the padawan of a fearsome Jedi standing in the Warrior’s way. After the player defeats Jaesa, they are given a few choices on how to handle her. Jaesa possesses the unique ability to detect people’s true nature through the force. If the Warrior is on the light side, Willsaam will realize the corruption of the Jedi Order and join the Warrior in an attempt to reform the Empire. Conversely, if the player has taken a darker path, Jaesa will realize the Jedi’s weakness and seek the unmitigated power of the Sith.

Vette is a former slave turned pirate. The Twi’lek people are no strangers to enslavement and general marginalization. As such, Vette has struggled with these systemic issues her whole life. Although she realizes her extreme luck in escaping slavery and is grateful for this, she nonetheless harbors deep guilt for somewhat abandoning Twi’leks without such opportunities. Vette’s side story is all about discovering her clouded past. Uncovering this aspect of her character makes her one of SWTOR‘s most empathetic characters. In many ways, if the Warrior grows close with her, Vette serves as their moral compass. She encourages the Warrior to defend the weak and question all authority, which is engagingly put at odds with the tenets of the Sith code.

Best Jedi Consular Companions

Nadia Grell and Qyzen Fess

Nadia Grell is an extraordinarily powerful force user who comes from a relatively primitive society. Because her species seldom produces force sensitives, the society Nadia was born into shunned and exiled her. As a result, she enters the galaxy as a fresh-faced and deeply curious person with unusually strong force powers. Being the daughter of a Republic senator, she is also very interested in diplomacy and politics. The Jedi Consular’s character and story fits in neatly with these aspects of Nadia. She is powerful in the force but untrained, curious about the galaxy particularly on the subject of politics. The Consular’s story is entrenched in diplomacy and they themself learn quite a lot about the force, so they have plenty to teach Nadia.

Qyzen Fess is an unlikely best friend to the Consular. He fervently worships a hunter goddess known as the Scorekeeper, and as such is on a holy mission to hunt increasingly greater foes. Qyzen delights in hunting powerful foes because of his belief in the Scorekeeper, though he scorns those who prey on the weak. Therefore, despite actively seeking combat, his outlook and goals actually align with the Consular’s. Additionally, Qyzen believes the Consular is a sign from the Scorekeeper, and so he is fiercely loyal to the player.

Best Sith Inquisitor Companions

Xalek and Khem Val

Xalek is the Inquisitor’s apprentice. A fellow Inquisitor himself, Xalek is a Kaleesh, the same species as General Grievous. Xalek is powerful, terrifying, and fearsome. He vehemently follows the Sith Code, seeing the pursuit of it as his sole purpose in life. Although he is the least interesting of the force-user class’ apprentice companions, Xalek makes for a good compliment to the Inquisitor (or a compelling foil depending on how you play).

Khem Val is a Dashade, hulking reptilian beasts with a resistance to the force. Because of the Inquisitor story’s nature, the player can treat Khem Val either as a loyal and fierce companion or as something akin to a guard dog. When the Inquisitor wakes Khem from a centuries-long stasis, he swears fealty to the player. Though he has an interesting story in his own right, Khem Val’s character becomes truly great when one of the Inquisitor questline’s main villains attaches to him. At a point in the story, a villain performs a ritual to try and dominate Khem Val. This backfires, however, leading to that villain’s consciousness trapped within the Dashade’s body. This leads to an interesting dynamic where that villain and Khem Val are fighting for control of the body, and the player has the choice of influencing which one ultimately wins.

Best Smuggler Companions

Bowdaar and Guss Tuno

Bowdaar is a strong and clever Wookie whom the Smuggler picks up on Nar Shaddaa. He is, at first glance, meant to be your Smuggler’s version of Chewbacca, being your tech savvy Wookie best friend and co-pilot. Despite this initial archetypal impression, Bowdaar stands out from his progenitor in a number of ways. Most notably, he is quite a bit more prone to violence than Chewie. Bowdaar spent many years as an enslaved gladiator, forced to kill countless people. As a result, while he despises needless cruelty, Bowdaar nonetheless delights in a good fight (and he’s a very skilled warrior as well). Not only does this give the player a good incentive to use him in combat, but it’s also a unique and interesting backstory for SWTOR‘s resident Wookie buddy.

Guss Tuno is a washout from the Jedi Order who harbors deep greed and hedonism. A character who tried and failed to be trained as a Jedi is unique in the Star Wars universe. Guss went through the training to become a Padawan, quit the Jedi Order, and turned to being a con man. These two aspects of his identity greatly influence his view of the world. Smugglers who get to know Guss hear inputs on the galaxy that are rare among Star Wars characters, which is refreshing in such a vast universe.

Best Bounty Hunter Companions

Torian Cadera and Mako

Torian Cadera is a young Mandalorian desperately struggling to prove himself. He is the son of a man who went turncoat on the Mandalorians, an act which has tainted the honor of the the Cadera clan. When the Hunter meets him, he is on a quest for revenge against his own father. Torian has very clear, defined goals and motivations. Above all, he needs to prove himself as a worthy Mandalorian warrior. He zealously abides by the tenets of Mandalorian codes and laws, never deviating from them even slightly. This personal quest driving Torian informs a lot to the player in terms of Mandalorian culture. As the Mandalorian society is one of the most important concepts to the Hunter’s story, this makes the young Cadera a shoe-in for their best companion.

Mako is the Hunter’s very first companion. She grew up in the seedy underworld of Nar Shaddaa, never really having anyone to call friend or family. As the Hunter, you take her under your wing and accept her as the first member of a new found family. Conversations with Mako are some of the Hunter story’s biggest opportunities to tug at your heartstrings. Additionally, digging deep into Mako’s backstory reveals a surprising amount of mystery and intrigue with nice payoff by the end.

Best Trooper Companions

Elara Dorne and Yuun

Elara Dorne was born in the Empire but has defected to the Republic. She is an ideal soldier with as close to a perfect service record as anyone could hope for. Despite this, Elara struggles to gain favor with her peers. Many other soldiers in the Republic still see her as an Imperial, and those who don’t see her as a stick in the mud. When she’s first assigned to the Trooper’s squad, her first assignment is helping to assist the elimination of a Republic defector. This is an interesting opening to Elara’s character, as it immediately sets the stage for her background, motives, and core inner turmoil. Elara stands out as perhaps the most intriguing character in a story with a plethora of bland personalities.

Yuun is a force-sensitive member of the insectoid Gand species. He is an expert tracker and an engineering mastermind, quite a boon to the Trooper’s squad. There aren’t many significant Gand characters in Star Wars (Zuckuss being one of the only examples). As a result, many conversations with Yuun pertaining to Gand society are a nice bit of worldbuilding. Although he can use the force, he does not utilize it for Jedi-like powers, but rather to augment his tracking and engineering capabilities. Overall, Yuun represents BioWare and Star Wars worldbuilding at its best, using it to create a notably unique character for The Old Republic.

Best Imperial Agent Companions

Doctor Lokin and SCORPIO

Doctor Lokin is a renowned scientist in the Empire. He has notably conducted many experiments on the Rakghoul Plague, a returning plot element from KoTOR. The Rakghoul Plague mutates its victims into horrific monstrosities who then spread the disease to others by mercilessly slaughtering them. Lokin developed a version of the virus which allowed him to transform into a Rakghoul and back at will. In essence, he’s very much like a werewolf. This is neat in concept, but it also speaks to Lokin’s interest as a character. The Doctor additionally fits in well with the Agent’s character and story. He is pragmatic and prefers to think about the long-term ramifications of every action. The Agent routinely makes decisions with which expert care must be taken in these regards, making Dr. Lokin’s input invaluable.

SCORPIO is a cold and calculating artificial intelligence ala System Shock‘s SHODAN. She doesn’t tend to care for others around her, and initially only follows the Agent primarily out of respect for their intelligence. While the extent to which she is loyal fluctuates and is generally unpredictable, SCORPIO can be a great boon for anyone she chooses to ally with. Receiving the counsel of a very wise and deceitful droid strongly benefits the Imperial Agent’s wet work and espionage endeavors.

Join the High Ground

With that, our list of SWTOR‘s best companions is complete. We hope this guide helps you take the high ground in picking which followers to befriend and utilize, no matter what class you play.

Have any extra thoughts about our list? Did we miss one of your favorite characters? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to join our newsletter for more SWTOR guides and gaming content!

Happy gaming, and may the force be with you!